WJPA Sports

WASHINGTON, Pa. – Luke Alvarez homered twice to help power the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team (32-11) to an 11-2 victory over Grove City (22-18) in the 2026 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Baseball Championship Round Saturday afternoon at Ross Memorial Park. The conference title is the 17th in program history for the Presidents, who have now won six of the past seven PAC crowns. The decisive postseason run this spring helps the Presidents avenge a season-ending loss to Grove City in last year’s tournament. Alvarez finished with a pair of home runs and five RBIs to lead the offense. Alvarez’s 15th and 16th home runs extended his single-season program record leader. His work offensively, behind the dish and on the mound helped Alvarez earn the honor as Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. Jack Anderson had a team-best three hits while Seth Rosenfeld logged another multi-hit effort in the 12-hit attack for the Presidents. W&J now awaits the NCAA Division III bracket announcement Monday at 12 noon.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nick Gonzales and Joey Bart each had four hits, Brandon Lowe drove in four runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates had a season-high 20 hits in a 13-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.  Every Pittsburgh starter recorded a hit. Oneil Cruz finished with three hits, while Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn each had two.  Braxton Ashcraft (2-2) went seven innings, allowing six hits and striking out six. Landon Roupp (5-3) struck out eight and gave up one run in four-plus innings before the Pirates pounced on the Giants’ bullpen.  Ryan Borucki replaced Roupp after a leadoff single by Bart in the fifth and but got just two outs before manager Tony Vitello pulled him in favor of Ryan Walker, who got San Francisco out of the inning.  Bryce Eldridge, the Giants’ 21-year-old designated hitter, quickly answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, his first in the majors, after getting the call-up from Sacramento earlier this week.  However, Walker surrendered two runs on back-to-back hits from Konnor Griffin and Bart, putting the Pirates ahead 4-1 in the sixth.  And in the seventh, the Pirates piled it on, getting four runs off JT Brubaker and then two more off Gregory Santos to take a 10-1 lead, garnering loud boos from Giants fans.  Giants second baseman Christian Koss left in the ninth inning after getting hit by a pitch on the shoulder.

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox has died. Cox died Saturday in Marietta, Georgia, according to the Braves. Cox had a stroke in 2019. Cox managed the Braves to prominence during the 1990s and the team’s first championship in 1995. He took over a last-place team in June of 1990 and the next season led the Braves to a worst-to-first finish. Atlanta lost in the World Series to Minnesota in seven games. That was the start of a record 14 consecutive division titles. He managed the Braves for 25 years, retired after the 2010 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. Bobby Cox was 84 years old.